Changing Realities
by Zachana16
Summary: On a bridge far from their true home, two Mist ninja met their end. Their story is over, or is it? Time has drawn a new destiny for these two, but what will it be and will they even be able to find each other. Or will they even know each other?
1. Changing Realities

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Only the plot line of this story is mine.

Prologue: Changing Realities

He was in pain. It was a blinding, searing pain, something he'd never felt before in his life. It was odd though; that this pain originated not from the wounds that were suffered this day, but from the sure knowledge that he'd failed to protect his most precious person. The pain only intensified as he lay helpless on the hard ground, his blood flowing out of him and weakening him even more. He had failed. He had completely, utterly failed. He was nothing now, a broken tool.

_'Zabuza-san, I'm so sorry. I have failed you. I am worthless now.' _Haku thought as he watched everything happening around him.

It was odd that he could see what was going on around him when everything was happening beyond his normal line of sight. Haku didn't question this ability, just trusted what he could see. The young ninja could feel his blood run cold when his sensei went down for the last time.

_'No!'_ His mind shouted, and though he wanted to say it aloud, he found that his voice wouldn't comply with his demand. _'No. NO! Zabuza-san, you can't die. You just can't! This can't be happening. I must be dreaming.'_ He thought, his mind in full hysterics now.

Everything was going so wrong. It just had to be a dream. Just a bad dream that he'd wake from soon and his sensei would be there, scolding him for making a fuss in his sleep again. It would be fine; everything would be fine. He just had to wake up.

Haku tried everything he could think of to awaken from the terrible nightmare he'd fallen into, but nothing he did would work.

_'Oh, gods…I'm not dreaming! This is really happening! Oh, please no…no…no no no no no no NO! I won't accept this! My master is stronger than this! No one can beat him. We're unstoppable. We're in power here. This is our territory._'

He could feel tears burning at the back of his eyes and had to bite down against his lower lip to keep them at bay. _'Damnit! I won't let this happen! I am stronger than this! I am not weak! I will not show weakness in front of Zabuza-san! I have to…I have to…'_ His mind ran out of things to deny with.

Haku knew what this meant. He could see what was going on, but his body was lain out flat on the ground. He couldn't deny what had happened any more than he could deny the fact that his precious one was going to die and that there was nothing he could do to stop it. The boy was dead already, only still here because of his fierce desire to be at his sensei's side until the very end.

He was still dressed in the clothes he'd died in, something he was very thankful for. If he'd been returned to his civilian clothing, he would have likely broken down long before now. His hunter nin mask could hide the pain he was in. He could hold his composure for a little while longer at least. As Kakashi set his sensei next to his already prone form Haku held his hands up and said a prayer. At the exact same time, Zabuza spoke the words that would be remembered for years to come.

_'If I could….I'd like to go to the same place as you.'_ This was Haku's prayer.

"If I could….I'd like to go to the same place as you." These were the words spoken by Zabuza as he died, lying next to the one he'd been living and fighting with for years.

Tears started coming down Haku's face. _'Please….no more….'_

A confused voice broke the young hunter ninja from his depressed haze. "Haku?"

His head snapped up at the sound and his hand immediately went for the senbon needles kept on his person at all times. Despite everything, Haku would always keep his guard up. He didn't want all the training he'd been through with Zabuza to mean nothing. The needles were put safely back into their hiding spot once Haku realized just who he was looking at.

"Z-zabuza-sensei? Oh…oh dear gods…." Haku said weakly as his brown eyes trailed freely over his sensei's form.

The jounin looked more than a little confused as he stood there, waiting for some form of explanation from his young student. His body language also spoke of annoyance and more than a little anger. He seemed as if he had not just had both his arms broken, like he'd never fought Hatake at all. There wasn't even the slightest smudge to his clothes. Everything was perfect, almost like he'd just gotten dressed for the day.

"Haku, what's going on here?"

Haku couldn't help what happened next. He tried so hard to keep everything inside, but after just witnessing what he had and realizing what it meant for both of them he just couldn't hold it anymore. Haku, a child who had never cried for anyone a day in his life, collapsed to the ground in a fit of tears.

"Haku!" Zabuza said, now noticeably angry with the hunter nin sitting there before him. "Stop that right now! You disgrace yourself with this show of emotion."

"Sir…I…I can't…I can't…I…" Haku's voice trailed off as another wave of tears wracked his slender frame. Soon, his quiet tears turned into loud sobbing, then to even louder keening. Then the keening sound hit a certain pitch and his jounin master's back went rigid.

"Ah…Genin Distress Signal…Damn you, Haku…." Zabuza said lowly, his hands curling into fists at his sides. (1)

As soon as he heard his master's words Haku clamped his mouth shut and curled his body forward, trying desperately to stop the violent reaction he was having to what had happened to the two of them.

"Kid?" His sensei's voice sounded unsure, almost like he was questioning what he was about to ask.

"Y-yes sir?" Haku managed out, only once stuttering to show his current state.

"What…" He looked away. "What's gotten into you? You've never been like this before. I've never seen you cry."

"Worried, sir?" His voice was starting to come back to its normal controlled tone.

Zabuza snorted. "Hardly. I have three words for you Haku: Genin. Distress. Signal. Seems like no matter how long we're away from the Hidden Mist village, I still can't shake that particular instinct in me."

"A jounin's need to protect." Haku stated it simply. This was a discussion they'd had before.

Tears were still streaming down Haku's lovely face unchecked, his pale face becoming paler still, and his brown eyes standing out starkly. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Stop apologizing! Damnit, Haku! I don't know how to deal with you like this!" As he spoke, he started pacing; something he did when agitated or seriously unnerved.

"Yes, sir."

"And stop calling me sir! You haven't addressed me like that since you were a child!"

Haku slowly rose back to his feet, his brown eyes even duller than before, and his body moving with a sluggishness that normally was not there. He wiped his eyes until they stopped burning from tears and brought his eyes up to his sensei's.

"Don't you know what has happened? Look at me, and I mean really look at me. Do I look like I've just been in a fight? Do you see blood anywhere on me? For that matter, did you even consider why you could use your arms when Hatake broke them both?"

Zabuza looked surprised, his eyes clearly stating this fact to his young student. Haku had never EVER taken that sort of tone with him before. The boy was always well mannered and polite, almost overly so. The tone he'd just heard out of his partner was one that he'd only ever heard when Haku was addressing someone that he deeply despised. Zabuza knew that Haku wasn't capable of despising him so there had to be something else wrong with the boy.

"What are you trying to get at, Haku? You're not making any sense." He said, clearly angry now that he was sure that something was bothering Haku. Zabuza said this for two reasons. One was that Haku responded best when he had to face his sensei's anger. Two, Haku would never down right refuse to answer him. Zabuza had taught the boy a long time ago the error of refusing to answer him. Haku wasn't likely to make that mistake again.

Haku let out this very loud, very rude sounding snort before he made a wide gesture to where their bodies were lying and said, "Look for yourself **_sir. _**Your answer lies there."

Zabuza made his way over to the two bodies that were set out some ways away from where he was standing. Dark eyes widened in shock and clear denial at what he saw there. The two bodies looked to belong to Haku and him, but that wasn't possible. Haku was still standing where he'd last seen him only a moment ago. Moreover, Zabuza knew that he was himself.

"What sort of trick is this, Haku?" He demanded his voice sharp as he addressed his student.

"No tricks, Zabuza-sensei. No tricks, no jutsu, no illusion. What you see is what is real. You and I, we're spirits now. We're…we're dead." Haku's head was slightly bowed as he spoke, almost as if he could soften the blow of what he had to say by hiding behind his long bangs.

"You're lying, Haku."

Haku's head snapped up as if he'd been punched there. "You of all people should know that I don't lie. Not to you, never to you. You just refuse to believe me, even with the proof lying there right in front of you." His voice was calm, unwavering. Haku was keeping his voice level and strong, using everything he knew to help Zabuza understand.

Zabuza had a unique ability. He could detect a lie from anyone by the tone of his or her voice. The slightest sign that this was a lie would likely have Haku struck across the face. It wasn't often that Zabuza had to strike him, but when he did the man had a heavy hand. The last time there had been a bruise on Haku's face for three whole weeks.

Cold black eyes locked with expressionless brown ones as Zabuza scanned both Haku's eyes and body language for the slightest sign of deceit. There was none to be found in the younger ninja. "You…you're telling the truth."

"You ever doubted me, sensei?" Haku asked, his body still held very still as if he half expected Zabuza to strike him anyway.

Despite everything, Haku still held a healthy respect for his much larger teacher. It was always smart to respect the power of another shinobi, even if Haku did know all of Zabuza's techniques. You just didn't live and train with someone as long as he had and not pick up something.

He knew very well how easily Zabuza could break him in two. Haku had all the jutsus and chakra control, while Zabuza was more physically strong. This didn't mean that each of them couldn't do what the other could. No, far from it. Zabuza had a set of jutsu that were uniquely his, something that Haku could never learn. Moreover, Haku had a special fighting style that appealed to his strengths. Most of what he could do without using chakra centered on his needles and his near inhuman speed.

They made for a powerful combination, but they were also capable of destroying one another. One of them could kill the other without much thought behind them. If Zabuza got hands on Haku's slight frame, he could literally tear him apart. Haku's power was much subtler and rarely felt, but it was there none the less. He knew pressure points and knew how to use them to harm or kill anyone he chose. Haku also had his bloodline limit that he could use if he had to. Only Haku's loyalty and devotion ever kept him from attempting to take his master's life.

"Yeah, I did. Trust never did come easily to me, Haku."

"And I have never given you a reason not to, sir." Haku said softly, not wishing to provoke his sensei.

"I know, Haku. If there's one thing I've learned about you over the years it's that you seldom lie."

Haku nodded, using the gesture to acknowledge that he had heard his master's words. The young mist ninja ran a hand up through his long brown hair, carefully pulling it from the bun he kept it in while he fought. He needed something to do to keep himself busy while he tried to work this out. Death had already found them both. Nothing could be done for that. The only thing left to the two shinobi was goodbye. It was something that Haku was dreading with everything he had.

It wasn't long before the powers took the choice from his hands. They were both rudely pulled back from each other, Haku in one direction and Zabuza in the other. It was time for them both to go, but they were each going to a different place.

"No! Not yet! I want to say goodbye! Please, not yet!" Haku yelled, trying desperately to keep himself from being pulled even further from his sensei.

Almost immediately, the pulling ceased. It was as if whoever watched over the dead had heard Haku's plea for a moment for goodbye.

Zabuza had dug his feet into the ground and resisted the force that pulled him away from his young partner. "Haku, what's going on?" He asked sharply, still bracing against being pulled away although he was no longer being pulled.

There were tears in Haku's brown eyes as he looked up at his sensei. He could feel the bare edge of tears threatening him, but managed to keep them at bay by mentally chanting one of the many lessons he'd learned about it.

_'The good shinobi never shows his feelings, even when they are about to destroy him.'_

He shut his eyes and turned his head away from Zabuza. He needed to compose himself before his master noticed that he was upset and got angry with him. With the mental lessons of his master repeating in his head, Haku opened his eyes again. It was time for them to part.

"Zabuza-sama…Its time for us to go. We're being called into whatever there is for us after life has ended. You and I… We won't be able to see each other after this. Where I go, you cannot. Where you go, may the gods watch your steps. One last mission, sir. One more time to fight, but this time we must each go our own ways."

Mist converged on the two of them, covering the ground and obscuring everything around their position. Haku could hear someone whispering to him, telling him that it was time for him to leave that something better lie in store for him. The young tracker ninja turned his back to his master and started walking; knowing that there was nothing more for him now. He couldn't fight.

"Haku, where do you think you're going?" Zabuza demanded, taking a few steps after the ice child before the same force as before pulled him backward again.

Haku stopped in the mist, looking back over his shoulder at the man who would always be his most precious person. He smiled at the larger shinobi, finally letting the tears he'd held at bay fall freely down his face. "Goodbye, Zabuza. I hope we meet again in the next life."

Without waiting for another thing to be said Haku walked further into the mist and disappeared, heading for his next life and a brand new adventure.

Well that's it.

Hope everyone likes this story.

Notes:

(1) This is a reference from another of my stories called Of Ice and Mist. I believe it is in Chapter One.


	2. Beyond the Change

Changing Realities

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Only the plot line of this story is mine.

Chapter One: Beyond the Change

"_I hope we meet again in the next life." The young man said as he disappeared into the gathering fog._

Dark brown eyes flew open wide, suddenly startled into their conscious position. Their owner, a teenaged boy, was sat upright in his bed. Haku Hiwatari was one of the best assassins the country of the Waves had. Despite his age and over all frail appearance, he had more kills to his name than any other assassin in the entire country. The "silent hunter of the mist," a name he'd earned many times over for his stealthy attacks and silent kills.

For all of his accomplishments, however, he still had to keep a low profile. There were always other assassins from other countries after him. It didn't bother him all that much, but having to kill every would be bounty hunter or assassin that came after his life wasn't any way to remain inconspicuous. Hence his current faux identity.

Lady Natomi was the only heir to a vast amount of land in the Mist Country. However, recently she'd gotten very ill and passed on in her sleep. The very next day, as fate had it, Haku had been passing through and one of the townspeople mistook him for Natomi. Since most had no idea that the real lady was dead, and Haku had no idea what was going on, he went along with it.

Now, some four months later, he was still pretending to be the lady of the castle. It was a nice arrangement for everyone involved. He had a place to lay low, and the people had someone to protect them, even if they didn't know it. Of course, once Natomi's next of kin came to claim the lands he'd have to leave, but until then he was set.

"Lady Natomi, it's time to get up." Haku sat up straighter, pulling the covers up to hide his exposed chest.

This was one of the problems that came with living here. Most of the servants and other staff thought that he really was a girl. Now normally this wasn't a problem since he was very feminine in appearance anyway, but since the summer heat had forced him into his unmentionables in an attempt to stay cool…He'd been forced to hide himself on more than one occasion.

"Hold on, I'm not decent." He called out, frantically searching for his night clothes.

The maid came in anyway, her arms laden with clean clothes in a hamper. "I won't look, miss. You go on and get yourself dressed while I put these away."

This was one of the times the brunette was glad for his ninja speed. Which meant that all the maid would see if she were to look was a brownish blur and a flash of pale skin. He quickly darted into the washroom, bringing his clothes for that day in with him. Once dressed Haku came back out, smoothing out the fabric of his kimono as he walked.

"So, Cesari-san, what's on the agenda for today?"

The maid paused in her task, seeming to realize that she'd forgotten to mention her lady's schedule for the day. "Forgive me, Natomi-sama, I forgot for a moment. Well, first you have a meeting with the diplomatic envoy from the Flame Country, then lunch with the Mizukage at 12:30, and you promised an audience to the people this evening as well." As she finished speaking the maid straightened somewhat, seeming to consider her next words carefully. "My lady….A message has arrived for you, from Kiri."

This got Haku's attention immediately. It had been a long while since his last assignment, and he'd actually begun to suspect that Kiri had forgotten where he was. The Mizukage did not know him by sight, had only ever contacted him through messengers. Hence why the man didn't just present it to him personally since he'd be seeing him that afternoon. The brown eyed assassin shooed the maid away, only opening the mission summons after the woman had gone.

"Let me see what Mist has for me this time. Hmmm…."

He read the letter quickly, his mind forming around several strategies for the man who's death he was supposed to cause.

Mamotchi, Zabuza  
Origin: Hidden Mist Village  
Kill count: Unknown, predicted to be in the hundreds.  
Mission Status: Track and Destroy  
Level: S-Rank  
Warning, Mamotchi is to be considered highly dangerous. Approach with all cautions observed.

Haku could feel a cold smile slip onto his face. He had been expecting this mission for some time now, ever since he'd first heard about the mysterious rogue ninja. It was surprising that it had taken Kiri this long to assign him this mission, especially since the man had killed nearly all of the other assassins sent after him.

"So, it's finally come to battle between us. Mist's best assassin versus the rogue of the Water Nation. Hm…this battle will truly be glorious. A battle for the history books, I'm sure. Well, I hope you are half the challenge that your profile makes you out to be.


End file.
